Articles by Steve Davies

The ag industry is paying more attention to a group of highly persistent chemicals known as PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which have been found in drinking water and groundwater throughout the United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency has extended until March 7 the comment period on its proposed interim registration decision and risk assessments for chlorpyrifos, an insecticide that environmental and farmworker groups have been trying to ban for more than a decade.

House committees begin voting starting today on the first provisions in the massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package President Joe Biden is pushing to pass. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to approve its portion of the package.

Government farm payments are still likely to fall significantly this year, but the cliff won’t be quite as stiff as it once looked like it would be.

USDA’s Farm Service Agency is extending the general signup period for the Conservation Reserve Program so it can look at ways to close an approximately 3-million-acre gap between the amount enrolled for 2021 and the CRP cap of 25 million acres.

USDA’s top climate adviser is trying to dispel concerns that the administration’s carbon spending will crowd out private investors. That’s a concern shared by some entities that are building private carbon credit markets.

It's official. Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow is back as chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee after the Senate finally approved an organization resolution Thursday afternoon. Stabenow last chaired the committee from 2011 to 2015.

Michael Regan, the Biden administration’s nominee for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, committed Wednesday to work with the agriculture community as he tackles thorny issues involving the Renewable Fuel Standard and implementation of the Clean Water Act.

Bayer has agreed with plaintiffs’ counsel on a plan the company said is “designed to manage and resolve future Roundup cases,” a key component of settling thousands of claims against the company over exposure to the widely used herbicide.

The Senate Agriculture Committee is expanding its membership with three new Democrats, who could give the committee a push to the left on some issues, including climate policy.